


Dead Man's Land

by UnchartedFreaks



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Survival, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-04-28
Packaged: 2018-03-12 19:49:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3353174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnchartedFreaks/pseuds/UnchartedFreaks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>*NEW VERSION/REWRITTEN VERSION!* Emily Brooks is a normal seventeen year old girl living in the zombie apocalypse known as the Fall. Things seem as normal as they can get for Emily until a mysterious boy named James Harrison wanders into the town, claiming to know what caused the Fall. Can Emily, her best friend Lizzie, and James stop the infection or is it all a lost cause?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Come on, Em. Time to wake up." a voice called from the doorway.

I groaned as I halfway took the old wool blanket off of my head and looked out of the window.

"It's hardly daybreak, Eric!" I told him as his blue eyes looked at me in amusement.

"Good. Be less warm and humid before the sun comes fully up." he said as I glared at the almost fully grey haired man.

He had on a blue plaid button up shirt, worn out blue jeans, and old brown leather boots on. I groaned as I put the thin blanket back over my head.

"Can't I just skip today? Just one day, it's all I ask." I said as I felt the blanket being pulled off of me.

"Or not." I added as an afterthought.

"I know you don't want to, Emily, but it's-" he started as I sighed.

"I know, I know. It's part of surviving." I recited as I sat up.

"I'm up. Happy?" I asked as he nodded.

"A little bit. Yeah." he said as he left the room.

"Asshole." I mumbled as I got out of the bed and ran a hand through my long and messed up dirty blonde hair.

"I hate training." I mumbled to myself before walking over to my bedroom dresser.

I opened one of the drawers and took out a light blue tank top, a comfortable pair of blue jeans, and my old black and white Converse shoes. I quickly got changed and tied my hair up in a messy ponytail before rushing out of my room and down the creaky stairs to the back door.

"About time you made it down here. Thought you got lost or something." he said as I scoffed.

"Yeah, well. You know me." I retorted as my eyes flickered towards the circled date on the calender.

"It's that time again." I said dully as he sighed.

"I know, kiddo." he replied as I looked down and crossing my arms.

My parents were killed on the night of the Fall. I remember it, clear as day. I shouldn't, really. After all, I was only two years old when it all started. Eric said something about the whole chaos of it all may have embedded the memory into my brain.

I remember a lot of screaming, shouting, cursing, and running. My dad was carrying me while holding onto my mom's hand. She fell and he screamed her name. What was it? Susie? Susan? I can't quite remember. I do remember my dad hiding me under an old pickup truck and saying he and mom loved me before running back towards where mom had tripped. That was the last I saw of them until day broke out. I had heard footsteps getting closer and closer to me. I originally thought it was one of those things coming back for me until this guy's face appeared from the gap between the ground and the truck.

It had been Eric.

He had scooped me out from under the truck before wrapping a blanket around my small body. I had asked where my mommy and daddy were but he didn't say anything. Only a look of pain and regret flashed across his face. He asked me for my name and I told him what it was.

"Emily? Emily Brooks, are you even listening to me?" I heard Eric's voice ask as I nodded.

"Uh huh!" I told him.

"Then what did I just say?" he asked as I looked at him.

"Why? Do you not remember what you said?" I retorted as he sighed.

"Look, kiddo. I know the next few days might be a little rough on you, so if you don't feel like you're all here then you don't have to train." he said as I looked at him.

"Last thing we need is for you to cut a finger off with that machete of yours." he joked as I rolled my eyes.

"Says the one who nearly cut his finger in half chopping up carrots." I chuckled as he patted my back.

"Get on out there while I make us some breakfast." he said as I picked up my weapon before opening the screen door, down the couple of stairs, and out into the back yard.

I walked through the grass towards the old wooden mannequin with painted targets around the arms, chest, legs, and head areas. Eric had made this for me years ago. Back when I had first started training. I took the machete out of its sheathe as the sharp blade glimmered in the faint rising sunlight. I have never had to use this on anything but the practice target.

I actually hope I never have to use this on anyone or anything. I delivered precise and well practice hits to each of the faded red targets over and over as I broke out into a sweat and my swinging arm was sore.

"Alright, kiddo. That'll do. Come on back inside." Eric eventually called out from the back door as I nodded, lowering the blade and putting a hand on my hip.

"About time." I said to myself, seeing the sun had halfway came up over the yellow sky.

I put my weapon back into his sheathe as I walked up the the stairs and back into the house.

"You're getting better." Eric stated as I sat at the wooden table and pressed my back onto the back of the chair.

"Thanks." I said as he handed me a glass of cold water from the sink.

I took a drink from the glass as I set it back on the table.

"Hey, Emily. I need you to do a couple of favors for me." Eric said as I chuckled.

"What now, old timer?" I asked as he shook his head.

"Go down to the old town hall building and get us some ration tickets. Then, go to Carol's Supply and General Store. We're gonna need all of these for dinner this whole week." he said, handing me a list on outdated notebook paper.

"Sure thing. If I can read your writing, that is." I said as he scoffed.

"Just go before the whole settlement gets up and lines get to long." he laughed as I stood, finishing my glass of water before putting it on the counter.

"Be back in a few, Eric!" I said, grabbing my old backpack from off of the armchair in the living room.

"Have fun, Em!" he said as I opened the main door before going outside.


	2. Chapter 2

I walked outside and looked out on the empty streets. The buildings were old and cracked with some having vines growing along the walls. The sidewalks and roads were cracked and some big thing the Elders called cars were either used for their parts or used for defense. Other than that, it was pretty normal. I whistled a tune as I readjusted my bag before walking down the street, heading towards the old town hall building.

Eric had said something about this being a big business town back in the Old World. We had a small bank with a hug machine called a printer which the town officials used to make our ration tickets with. We also had paper currency. One settlement's currency did not amount to anything in another settlement since each settlement had its own currency. I finally reach the building as I opened the dirty and cracked glass door and walked on the cracked marble floor.

Ah, Ms. Emily Brooks! So good to see you!" an older man greeted me from behind the fancy counter.

"Good morning, Elder Thomas." I said as I waved.

Elders were people who knew what life was like before the Fall. Some said it had been worse than what it is now. I can hardly believe that.

"Has Mr. Richardson sent you?" he asked as I nodded.

"Yep. Eric sent me to get our ration tickets for this week." I said, putting a hand on one strap of my pack.

"Very well." he stated as he reached a hand down under the counter and pulled out this big book.

He opened it as I approached the desk.

"I suppose I don't need to explain what to do." he said with a smile as I chuckled.

"Been doing this since I was a kid, Elder Thomas." I said as I signed my name as I added Eric's next to mine.

"Thank you, Ms. Emily." he said as he turned around before walking over to some heavily locked lockers and undoing all five locks before opening one of them.

He turned around and handed me the thick yellow sheets of paper.

"Thanks." I said as I took my pack off and unzipped it before placing the tickets into the pack.

I threw it back over my shoulder as I nodded.

"Good day." I said as he nodded back.

"Good day, Ms. Emily. Tell Mr. Richardson I said hello!" he said as I smiled slightly.

"Sure will, Elder Thomas." I told him before walking out the door and back into the streets.

I looked around the settlement as people started to wander the streets. You could almost forget what had happened to the world except for the giant fence surrounding the perimeter of Wellsprings. Eric said it was build a year or two after Wellsprings was founded by Mayor Stevens after the settlement was nearly overrun by Fallen. I stopped and went down to the far end of the settlement and looked at the tall, steel fence. I put my hands on the cold metal and stared out into the distance.

We call all of the empty space out there Dead Man's Land. Only the Fallen and Crazies are out there. Crazies are small tribes of people who make camps out there. Rumors are that they are cannibals and will shoot anyone on sight, Fallen or human.

"Figured I'd find you out here." a voice said as I turned my head.

"Hey, Liz!" I greeted as she walked over to me.

Her name is Lizzie Mayes and she's my best friend in the whole settlement. She's only two days older than I am told her family arrived at Wellsprings the same time Eric arrived back here with me. Her red hair was in a ponytail as her hazel eyes glanced out to where I was looking.

"Wouldn't you like to see what's all out there?" I asked as she gave me a look.

"No!" she said as I smiled slightly.

"Don't tell me you're still thinking about that crazy idea of exploring Dead Man's Land?" she told me as I chuckled.

"I remember a time when you were on board with that plan." I stated as she snorted.

"We were eight years old!" she said as I laughed slightly before glancing down at my watch.

"I better get to Carol's store before Eric starts hunting me down." I joked as she chuckled.

"I'll come with you. Mom and dad will feed me to the Fallen if I'm late again." she said as we shared a laugh before walking back to the main streets.

"Dad and his hunting party have a trip here in an hour or so." Lizzie said as we walked down the street.

"Maybe they'll find a bear or a big buck." I told her as she nodded.

Emily's father is one of our Hunters. They got out into Dead Man's Land and hunt animals for food to bring back to Wellsprings. Scavengers usually tagged along with them and search the buildings for any supplies that were left behind.

"Here we are." Lizzie said as we reached the old brick building.

I reached for the rusty golden doorknob before opening the wooden door as we stepped inside. The inside was brick with wooden floors that made noises when you stepped on some places.

"Why, if it isn't little Emily and Lizzie!" Carol's voice said as we smiled.

"Hello, Elder Carol." Lizzie said as Carol looked at me and chuckled.

"Has Eric got you running his errands again?"she taunted as I chuckled.

"Yeah, but it's fine. I like being out of the house." I said as she chuckled.

"You always were a wandering soul. Eric had a hard time keeping up with you after you arrived! Poor soul!" she said as we all let out a laugh.

"Anyway, what can I do for you girls?" she asked us.

"I just need to grab today's rations. Mom's making soup for tonight." Lizzie said as I reached into my pocket and took out the list.

"This whole week's rations for me." I said as Lizzie's eyes went wide.

"What's Elder Eric planning on doing?" she asked as Carol chuckled.

"That's just his way, Lizzie. He likes getting everything done at one time." she said as she took our ration tickets.

"Go on ahead and I hope you find everything you're looking for!" she said as we smiled.

"Thanks." we said as I handed Lizzie a basket before getting one for myself.


	3. Chapter 3

Lizzie and I began to wander around Carol's store as we placed the food items we needed into the old baskets.

"It's easy to forgot, huh?" I suddenly asked.

"What?" Lizzie replied, not understanding the reason for my sudden question.

"What it's actually like out there." I said as she picked up an apple before examining it.

"Well, isn't that the point of the settlement and the fence? To keep us safe?" she pointed out as she placed the fruit into her basket.

"Keeping us safe is one thing but why hide what's going on out there? Why all of the secrecy?" I told her as she sighed with a slight smile on her face.

"That curiosity of yours is going to get you in trouble or killed one of these days." she told me as I scoffed.

"Lizzie, come on, admit it. You want to know more about Dead Man's Land about as much as I do." I said to her.

"I doubt that." she replied before moving on to the next shelf.

"Lizzie!" I called out as I went after her.

"No, Emily. You remember what happened the last time you and I got outside the fence." she said as I sighed.

"We could have gotten farther if your pants hadn't got caught up in the fence." I told her.

Lizzie and I had cut a little bit of the fence out so we could crawl out and avoid being spotted by the guards or other settlers. Not like the Fallen can crawl anything. We keep the hole hidden by putting a storage crate in front of it so it was unnoticeable. I had been able to get through easily, but when it was Lizzie's turn, the back of her pants got hung up in a piece of cut fence. Eric and the Mayor eventually found us and had to practically drag me back through the hole.

"We were only eight, Lizzie. They forgave us." I said as she scoffed.

"Yeah. After I had to do all of the chores for a week and no privileges for two! Besides, Elder Eric was something called a detective back in the Old World. He knows how to track and how to solve things around here." she said as I scratched my head.

"Isn't that what a detective is?" I asked her as she shrugged.

"I don't know." she said as I shrugged as well.

We finished up gathering what we needed as we started heading back to the front counter of the store.

"Ah, I hope you found everything alright." Carol said as she started looking through our baskets. You could only get what your ration tickets paid for. No under and no over. The right amount.

"Okay, girls. Everything seems good here." she said as I took my pack off before carefully placing the items inside.

"You two behave ourselves. Especially you, Emily." Carol said as we chuckled.

"Take care, Elder Carol." Lizzie said as we walked out the door and headed back down the street.

"Man, it's getting warm already." I said as I blocked the bright sun with my hand.

"It's that time of year again. Probably get another thunderstorm tonight." Lizzie said as I sighed.

"More than likely." I said as I stopped.

"Oh, sorry, Em. I didn't realize we went this way." Lizzie said as I smiled lightly.

"It's fine." I said before turning to see the sight to my right.

It was the Lost Wall.

The Lost Wall was an old wall that had names engraved into it and pictures tapped on the sides. The names were of everyone who were either missing, dead, or part of the Fallen. I brushed my fingertips over one of the many lines on the wall.

"Mrs. and Mr. Brooks." I read to myself.

Since I couldn't remember my own parents names, Mayor Stevens had just put Mr. and Mrs. Brooks for me.

"Are you going to come to Remembrance Day this year?" Lizzie asked softly as I shook my head, my light green eyes lowering to the ground.

"No." I told her.

I never went to Remembrance Day. The other Elders, including the Mayor, said it was a day to remember all that we have lost. Eric said it was a nicer name for the day when shit hit the fan, as he usually said.

"What's the point? What's gone is gone. There's no changing that." I said as I walked ahead.

"Alright, Emily." Lizzie said as she caught back up to me.

"I'll just put two candles in the windowsill like I do every year like Eric does." I said.

"Who did he lose?" she asked as I shrugged.

"He's never told me." I replied.

"Have you asked?" she wondered as I nodded.

"When I was younger, yeah. He never did tell me. Just said to go on and put the candles in the window." I told her.

"Huh, that's strange." she said as I chuckled.

"Eric's strange." I told her as we reached the Mayes household.

"Well, I better get inside before I get yelled at. See you later, Emily!" she said as she waved with her free hand before heading into her house with her rations.

I smiled as I shook my head as I finally made it back to the house.

"Eric, I'm back!" I called out as I opened the door.

We don't lock our doors unless the sirens go off or it's time for bed.

"I'm in here, Emily." he said as I started heading towards the sound of his voice.

"In the kitchen? What, did we have some left over rations from last week or something?" I asked as I saw the Mayor sitting at the table while Eric had his arms crossed.

"Aw, man." I whined as Eric pointed to the one empty seat.

"Sit down, Emily." Eric said as I basically threw myself into the chair, my pack next to me.

"Now, Ms. Brooks, one of the patrolling guards heard you questioning the protection of our fence and maybe even Wellsprings." he said as I raised an eyebrow and scoffed.

"Well, now that you mention it." I said, leaning forward.

"Emily." Eric warned as Mayor Stevens raised his hand.

"No, no. It's fine, Detective Richardson. I would like to hear what Ms Brooks has to say." he said as he looked at me.

"Continue." he said, folding his hands.


	4. Chapter 4

"Look, we deserve to know what's going on out there!" I said, pointing towards the window.

"Out in Dead Man's Land?" he questioned as I snorted.

"Wow, no wonder you're the mayor." I taunted him as I saw the look Eric was giving me.

"I understand you're reasoning, Ms. Brooks, but some people cannot or do not want to hear such horrible things." he said as I looked at him.

"So, what? We're just going to pretend the Fall never happened." I told him, placing my palms on the cold surface of the table.

"We cannot change history, Ms. Brooks." Mayor Stevens told me.

"Which is exactly why we deserve to be told!" I asked him as my eyes flickered up to him.

"Are you even prepared if the Fallen attack Wellsprings?" I snapped.

"That's enough, Emily." Eric told me as I sat back in my chair.

"We deserve to know what life is like out there."I stated.

"It is for the safety of the other settlers that no news from the outside reaches Wellsprings. We do not need panic and worry in our happy settlement. I do not want to hear anymore of this nonsense else you shall be severely punished. Good day, Ms. Brooks." Mayor Stevens said as he stood up.

He must have been waiting for me to do the same but I remained where I was. He sighed before shaking Eric's hand.

"Good day, Mr. Richardson." he said as he left.

"Emily." Eric said but I did not dare look up at him.

"You did good, kiddo." he said as that made my eyes look up at him.

"I did?" I asked as he nodded.

"Yeah. You stood up for what you believed in." he told me as I became confused.

"Yet, you kept telling me to shut it." I said as he chuckled.

"Had to give Stevens a little reassurance, didn't I?" he said as we chuckled.

"You get our rations for this week?" he asked as I nodded, handing him the pack.

He started putting the food away in various cabinets as I thought of something.

"How come he doesn't want us to know what's going on in Dead Man's Land?" I asked him as he stopped putting food away, his hand in midair with a can of beans.

"He wasn't lying when he said it wasn't pretty out there, kiddo." he eventually said as he place the can on the shelf.

"I get that, but we should know everything in case something was to ever happen." I countered as he nodded.

"I agree with that but.." he started as he shook his head.

"I guess they just want to make life as normal as possible. Even if it includes blocking out the outside." Eric said as I sighed.

"Can you tell me anything about what it's like out there?" I asked as he turned his head and looked at me.

"You sure you wanna know?" he asked as I nodded.

"Absolutely." I stated firmly.

He chuckled lightly as he pulled up a chair across from me.

"You've always been curious." he said as I looked at him, waiting.

"Alright, what do you want to know?" he asked as I grinned slightly.

"First off, the basics." I said as he nodded.

"Well, you already know about the Fallen and the Crazies." he said as I thought for a moment.

"I know the names, sure, but I don't know much information on them. What do the Crazies and Fallen look like?" I asked.

He laughed as he ran a hand through his hair.

"You're not gonna start off easy, are you?" he asked as he sighed.

"Alright, kiddo. If that's what you want to know." he said as I leaned forward in my chair, ready to listen.

"Alright, you know the Fallen are the ones who have either died or have been bitten, right?" he asked as I nodded.

"Well, the Fallen rose three days from now fifteen years ago. They're nasty looking things, depending on how long they've been around." he told me as I nodded.

"That's why I can't give you a general appearance of a Fallen. They're all different, just like us." he said as I raised an eyebrow.

"The Fallen aren't people. They're not like us." I told him. "Not anymore, yeah, but they once were." he said as I leaned back into the chair, nodding.

"Alright, what about the Crazies?" I asked him.

He was about to say something when the door was opened.

"Elder Eric, are you here?" Lizzie's voice asked.

"In here, Lizzie. Please, cut the Elder crap. Makes me feel old." Eric called out.

"It's because you are old." I snickered as he ruffled my hair.

"Hey, knock it off!" I said, shoving his hand away.

"My dad was wondering if you wouldn't mind watching the north guard tower while him and the men leave for their hunting trip. He doesn't trust the guard's aim, as he told me." she said as he nodded.

"I'll be right there." he said as she nodded.

"Thank you. Bye, Em." she said as she left.

"Emily, I will be right back. Stay here and behave." he said, grabbing his pistol from the top left dresser.

"Sure thing." I said as he left.

That's when I remembered something.

Eric's always had this big box under his bed but he's never let me see inside it. Plus, this is the first time he's left the house in forever. It only took a second of thinking before I stood up and hurried up the stairs into Eric's room.

I made it into his room and crouched down near his bed. I had a good thirty minutes or so. I grabbed the big, brown box before pulling it out from under there. I sneezed from the collected dust on the box as even more dust flew when I sneezed. I carefully and gently opened the box as my eyes went wide.

"Whoa.." I said as I picked up the shiny object.

What was it called again? A badge?

It fit right into my hand and had some weird symbols and a flag on it.

"Pennsylvania Police Department." I read off of it as the object also had the word 'Detective' on it.

"Huh. Must have been something of Eric's back before the Fall." I said as I set it aside before pulling out a picture frame, the glass heavily cracked.

It was a picture of a much younger Eric in some fancy uniform with an unknown woman and he had a little girl in his arms.

"Who are they?" I asked myself as I put the picture next to the badge before picking up a hat.

It was the same one Eric had on in the picture. I put it down before seeing the main uniform itself only something got my attention.

"Is that...dried blood?" I asked outloud before picking it up and standing up to see the whole thing.

Indeed, there was a patch of what looked like dried up blood right on the chest area.

"What the hell happened?" I asked quietly before putting the uniform neatly on the bed.

That's when I saw a paper. I picked it up before looking it over.

"Maria Lynn Richardson.." I read as I saw she had been born three years before the Fall happened.

I picked up the picture again as my mind started to put things together. I also saw something called a certificate of marriage.

"What in the hell are you doing?" I heard Eric's voice say but it had never been that low before.

I turned my head and saw him standing there, fuming at me.

"I was just.." I started when he snatched the paper and picture away from me.

"This was none of your goddamn business, Emily!" he snapped at me as I flinched.

"I-I only wanted to see what was under there. Who are them people, Eric?" I asked him but he only gave me a hard look.

"Get out, Emily." he said sternly.

"Eric-" I started to speak.

"Get the hell out!" he shouted as I jumped, tears forming in my eyes.

"Screw you, Eric Richardson." I spat as I turned on my heel before running out the door and across the hall to my room, slamming the door shut.

I wiped my eyes as I saw Eric had put my pack next to my bed. Must have done that after he got finished putting the food away. I grabbed it before placing it on my bed. I opened my drawers before taking as many clothes out as I could carry. I had heard one of the guards speaking of another settlement to the east called Winston's Way not to far from here.

I bet I could climb through the hole in the fence and make it there before dusk. If I hurried. I shoved the clothes down into pack as I turned back to grab my machete. I grabbed it and attached the sheathe to my belt as I threw the pack over one shoulder before going over to the window and opening it. That's when I heard a knock at the door.

"Emily, open the door." Eric's voice said as I had one leg out of the window.

"Come on, I know you're in there." he said as I rolled my eyes.

"Well, aren't you so smart, Mr. Detective." I mouthed smartly, still refusing to make any noise or verbal contact.

"Come on, kiddo. Please, we need to talk." he said as I was at a crossroads. Stay here and talk to Eric or go out and try out my escape plan?


	5. Chapter 5

I put my foot back inside as I walked over to the door and threw it open.

"Better make it quick. I'm getting ready to leave." I snapped at him as he looked at me.

"Yeah? Where do you plan on going?" he asked as I could hear a small amount of amusement in his voice.

"Winston's Way." I told him, holding my head up high.

"Winston's Way, huh? That's a far walk." he said as I scoffed.

"Not to far. Might get lucky and catch a caravan on its trading route."I said as he scoffed.

"You'd be sold to the Crazies for two first aid kits and a blanket." he said as I gave him a heavy glare.

"It would beat being with you." I said lowly as he sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry about what I said before, alright? I wasn't exactly expecting that, you know." he said as I crossed my arms.

"Tell you what. Give me five minutes to talk and if you still wanna leave, be my guest." he said as I looked him over.

"Just like that?" I asked him.

"Just like that." he repeated.

I plopped down on my bed, my pack still on my back. "Time starts now." I told him as he sighed.

"I know I shouldn't have snapped or yelled at you like that. I'm sorry." he said as I didn't speak a word.

"I bet you have a lot of questions. You always do." he said as he sat down next to me as I moved a little farther away from him.

"Those two in the picture. Are they your wife and daughter?" I asked as he sighed, his eyes dropping to look at the floor.

"Yeah. They were." he said as I became puzzled.

"Were?" I repeated.

"Listen, Emily. This..this isn't a pretty tale." he said as I moved closer to him, taking off the pack.

"Is anything in this world?" I asked him as he chuckled lightly.

"I suppose not." he said as I turned to face him, sitting cross-legged on my bed.

"Alright, I was a detective, as you already know." he started as I nodded.

"Yeah. Lizzie said that you solve crimes and help track animals." I told him as he hummed in agreement

"Exactly. Well, I was coming home from my shift. That's when I began to notice things were quiet. Unusually quiet." he said as I waited for him to continue.

"I drove home and saw that the front door was wide open so I pulled out my gun and slowly walked inside." he said as I started to get anxious.

"I heard some noises coming from upstairs so I decided to go and investigate." he said as he took a deep breath.

"My little girl had turned and attacked her mother. My wife had already been long gone by the time I got home." he said softly as I looked at him.

"Eric.." I said as I remembered the dried blood on his uniform.

"You did what you had to do." I said quietly.

"I-I took out little Maria then I noticed Janice was waking up, but it wasn't her. Not anymore." he said as I looked at him in pity.

No wonder he didn't tell me.

"That's when I finished the job and went outside into the streets to see that it went from dead silence to hell in a hand basket." he said as he shook his head.

"I didn't want to risk being thrown out of my car so I decided to walk down the road, trying to lead people to safety and shooting any hostiles at the time. All in the dark after the power went down." he said as he chuckled slightly.

"Kept walking until the sun came up." he said as I peered up at him.

"The roads had been cleared out except for trash and abandoned cars by daybreak. I was going to pass straight through when I heard crying." he said as he glanced at me, a light smile on his face.

"As I got closer to the truck, the crying got quiet. I was hesitant as to putting my head down because I knew this..disease..could infect anyone. No matter what age." he said as I looked at him.

"I decided to take a chance anyway and I looked under the old pickup." he said as it was my turn to look down.

"There you were. Hair all over the place and blocking one of your eyes, huddled up in a tiny ball. Scared to death." He said as I looked up at him.

"I reached a hand under and you backed away. Hell, I couldn't blame you. God knows what you had saw or heard." he said as he chuckled.

"Took me a good couple minutes to get you to come closer. I pulled you out and held you in my arms." he told me as he laughed slightly.

"You had this look on your face. Light green eyes boring into mine. Your face was one of both curiosity and slight defiance." he said as he looked at me.

"You still haven't lost that look." he said as I chuckled before playfully rolling my eyes.

"You reminded me so much of Maria." he said as I fell silent again.

"I knew I couldn't leave you to share the same fate as my own little girl. So, I found an old blanket inside of the empty cars and wrapped it around you. That's when you wanted to know where your mommy and daddy were." he said as I looked at him.

"You never did tell me." I realized as he glanced at me.

"Kiddo, I don't think you wanna know." he said as I looked at him.

"Eric, please. Tell me what happened to my parents." I said to him.

"I saw them about a mile after I found you. You had fallen asleep on my shoulder and I was about to reach the end of town." he said as I looked at him.

"They were alive?!" I asked, getting hopeful.

"You could put it that way, Emily." he said as I looked at him.

"Your father was dead, looked like he was shot point blank in the head." he said as I looked at him, eyes slightly wide.

"W-What?" I asked him before remembering something.

"My mom?" I asked as he sighed.

"She was bitten. In her right forearm. It was to late for her." he said as my face fell.

"She saw you in my arms and her face brightened." he said calmly as I looked at him.

"You found my little girl, she said. You found my little Emmy." he said as I felt tears threatening to form in my eyes.

"She told me your name was Emily Brooks and you were two years old. Your birthday was the seventeenth of September and you loved puzzles more than anything." he told me as I gripped the bed sheets.

"She asked me to keep an eye on you and I told her I'd protect you for the rest of my life." he said as I looked away.

"She told me to put her out of her misery but not before one last thing." he said as he stood before walking over to his locked dresser drawer.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

He unlocked it before taking out a small box and handing it to me.

"She said to give it to you when you were old enough for me to tell you what happened." he said as I opened it to see a ring with a blue stone in the middle of it.

I placed it on my finger as it shone in the sunlight coming through the window.

"It's a sapphire. September's birthstone." he said as I broke down.

He hugged me as I cried into his shoulder.

"It's alright, kiddo. It's okay." Eric told me as I sobbed.


	6. Chapter 6

I wiped my eyes as Eric let me go.

"You alright?" he asked as I nodded, smiling slightly.

"Thank you for telling me, Eric." I said as he smiled lightly.

"You deserved to know." he said softly.

I was about to say something when I noticed a lot of commotion around the gate from my window.

"What's going on out there?" I asked as Eric peered out the window as well.

"Stay here. I'll go check it out." he said as he stood.

"I'm coming with you!" I said as I shot out of my bed.

"No, Emily. You stay here. If things go bad, I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire." he said as I groaned.

"I'm seventeen, Eric! I can take care of myself!" I told him as he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Please, I want to see what's going on out there! Nothing ever happens in this place!" I told him, giving him a sad look.

He chuckled before shaking his head. "Alright, alright. You can come. Just, stay close to me and don't wander off." he said as I nodded.

"You got it!" I told him as we exited my room. "Do we need to bring our weapons?" I asked him.

"Yeah, but don't have it out. We don't need to spook anyone." he said as I nodded.

I grabbed my machete and attached the sheathed weapon to my belt as Eric put his pistol in his side holster.

"Let's go, kiddo." he said as we left the house and headed towards the crowd.

"What happened?" I asked as we approached on of the gate's guards.

"That is classified, Ms. Brooks. I am afraid I cannot tell you." he said as I rolled my eyes.

"You can tell me though." Eric said as I gave the guard a smug grin.

"Fine. Some teen came stumbling up to the gate. Said he was an ex- member of the E.R.F. and he had important information about The Fall and who caused it." he said as my eyes went wide.

Nobody knows much of anything about The Fall. Besides, what's the E.R.F?

"Ah, Detective Harrison. Just the man I wanted to see." Mayor Stevens voice said.

"Oh, look who it is." I mumbled under my breath, earning a hard look from Eric.

"What do you need, Mayor?" Eric asked as I crossed my arms and balanced my weight on one foot.

"I need you to use those interrogation skills of yours to question the young man that came into our settlement." he stated as Eric nodded.

"Alright. Let's go, Em." he said as Mayor Stevens held up a hand.

"Actually, I would rather have Ms. Brooks return home. I do not want this getting out." he said as I cleared my throat.

"Personally, I figure the 'young man' would feel more comfortable if someone around his age was in there." I told him as he gave me a look.

"Ms. Brooks does have a point, sir." the guard said as I smirked.

"Very well. She can go. However, you will be the one asking the questions Detective Robertson, not Ms. Brooks." he said as Eric nodded.

"Yes, sir." Eric said.

"Good. He is in the infirmary. Had a run in with some Crazies, he claimed." Mayor Stevens said as he walked away.

"Let's go!" I said, rushing ahead.

"Emily, wait up." Eric called out as he hurried to catch up to me.

I raced to the infirmary door as Eric pulled me back.

"Look, we have to take things slow, alright? No barging in like a bull in a china shop." he told me as I cocked my head to the side.

"A what in a what?" I asked as he shook his head.

"Just, let's go inside." he said as I nodded.

He put me behind him as he opened the door and we went inside.

I heard a lot of people talking as I saw the person that had made his way into the camp. He had on a green shirt when a pocket over the right side of his chest, camo pants, and black combat boots along with shiny dog tags around his neck. Like a guard's uniform only less formal. He had messed up pitch black hair and dark green eyes.

He looked around my age, maybe a year older.

"Ah, Detective. You've arrived. I see you brought along Emily." a guard greeted as Eric nodded.

"I did. She thought it would put him at ease." Eric said.

The guy looked over at me and I smiled as nicely as I could.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes, but I thought I saw the faint glimpse of a smirk on his face before Eric turned to him.

"What's your name, son?" he asked sternly.


End file.
